well, what the hell. I mean aWhat could go wrong?f A year later; structural effects aside, issues wrought by the of the earthquake are still very much prevalent. They appear to be stuck on awful, billions of dollars pledged,100s of millions spent, the best intentions ..etc. etc.

Cholera outbreaks ( followed by the obligatory hanging of witch doctors, before blaming peacekeepers), due to lack of clean water, chaotic living conditions, lack of any apparent law and order or Government that just go along with the rest of the general ongoing disaster that is normal Haiti....

so, they need this bozo? Or perhaps, the better question is; whats left to go wrong?

snip-

And whats perhaps even harder to imagine is how the government of French President Nicolas Sarkozy could have allowed Duvalier, who arrived from Paris, to board an Air France flight bound for Haiti under the current circumstances. For the French to have even permitted [Duvalier] to leave their territory amidst an electoral and cholera crisis here shows they have not much interest in the welfare of the Haitian people, says a high-ranking Haitian government official.

French officials, who technically had no power to stop Duvalier, werent responding to that question on Sunday night. But Port-au-Prince media were rife with conflicting conspiracy theories  all of them focused on last weeks election report by the Organization of American States (OAS). It concluded that Jude Célestin, the candidate of Haitian President René Prévals party, actually finished third, not second, in the first-round balloting on Nov. 28, and that Célestin should therefore not be eligible for a runoff vote  which, ironically, was originally supposed to have been held Sunday but has been postponed.
The less-than-credible Nov. 28 results, which many if not most Haitians believe the government fixed to eke out a runoff spot for Célestin, were met by violent street protests last month. Even before last weeks OAS report, the aloof and unpopular Préval was under ample international pressure, including from the U.S., to recognize the official third-place finisher, Michel Martelly, as the actual runner-up. (He would then face first-place candidate Mirlande Manigat in the runoff.) Last week, Frances ambassador to Haiti, Didier Le Bret, was frequently on Haitian radio calling on Préval to respect the OAS recommendation. Préval in turn angrily charged France and the international community with imperialist-style strong-arming.

The question now is, Who if anyone in this standoff benefits from the sudden presence of Duvalier? Some Haitian pundits on Sunday said it might be meant to compel Préval to acquiesce to international demands to sacrifice Célestin. But its hard to believe, even under Sarkozy, that France and the international community would stoop so low diplomatically as to encourage Duvalier to return to Haiti for that purpose. Others suggested that Duvaliers return instead gives Préval leverage by showing the international powers how much more turbulent things can get if they keep messing with the Haitian President. But again, could even Préval be cynical enough to open the door to one of the 20th centurys most notorious dictators for that kind of political gain?

now for the Haitian news.....adding to the idiocy that was baby doc, it appears Aristide is pressing for a diplomatic passport to go back to Haiti too.......unreal.

The news this week that Haiti may issue a new diplomatic passport to former president Jean Bertrand Aristide is rattling Haitian democrats, and understandably so. That tortured nation is already nervously awaiting a legal resolution of the November presidential election that the Organization of American States says was riddled with government-sponsored fraud. The last thing Haiti needs is the return of a tyrant whose stock-in-trade was sowing violence.

Jean-Claude Duvalier ruled Haiti from 1971 to 1986...Haiti's ex-ruler 'Baby Doc' Duvalier attends court28 February 2013 - Haiti's former ruler Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier has appeared in court for a hearing to determine if he can be charged with crimes against humanity.

It was the first time Mr Duvalier, who failed to appear at previous hearings, had faced some of his alleged victims. He returned to Haiti in 2011 after spending 25 years in exile in France. Human rights groups say hundreds of political prisoners were tortured or killed under Mr Duvalier's rule from 1971 to 1986. Opponents and supporters of Mr Duvalier turned out for the hearing, with some of his alleged victims just metres away from him in the packed courtroom.

Supporters dressed in the black and red colours symbolic of Mr Duvalier's rule chanted "Long live Duvalier" as he entered the courthouse. Mr Duvalier's lawyers had asked for the session to be held in private, arguing he was unwell. The hearing was requested by his alleged victims, who want to see him stand trial for crimes against humanity.

'President for life'

Last year, a judge ruled that Mr Duvalier should be tried for embezzling public funds but that the statute of limitations had run out on charges of murder, arbitrary arrest, torture and disappearances. That ruling is contested by human rights organisations, which argue that under international law there is no time limit on prosecuting crimes against humanity. Mr Duvalier is himself appealing against the decision to try him on any charges. Now a three-judge panel must decide whether the former leader should face trial.

Three previous attempts to hold the hearing had to be postponed when Mr Duvalier failed to turn up. Mr Duvalier was just 19 when he inherited the title of president-for-life from his father, Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, who had ruled Haiti since 1957. Like his father, he relied on a brutal militia known as the Tontons Macoutes to control the country. In 1986 he was forced from power by a popular uprising and US diplomatic pressure, and went into exile in France.

Ousted Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier diesOctober 4, 2014, Jean-Claude-Duvalier, the self-proclaimed "president for life" of Haiti whose corrupt and brutal regime sparked a popular uprising that sent him into a 25-year exile, died Saturday of a heart attack, his attorney said.

Reynold George said the 63-year-old ex-leader died at his home. Duvalier, looking somewhat frail, made a surprise return to Haiti in 2011, allowing victims of his regime to pursue legal claims against him and prompting some old allies to rally around him. Neither side gained much support, and the once-feared dictator known as "Baby Doc" spent his late years in relative obscurity in the leafy hills above the Haitian capital.

Duvalier was the son of Francois "Papa Doc" Duvalier, a medical doctor-turned-dictator who promoted "Noirisme," a movement that sought to highlight Haiti's African roots over its European ones while uniting the black majority against a mulatto elite in a country divided by class and color. The regimes of both leaders tortured and killed political opponents and relied on a dreaded civilian militia known as the Tonton Macoutes.

Former Haitian dictator Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier arrives at the Caribe Hotel in Port-au-Prince after his surprise return to Haiti on Sunday, Jan. 16, 2011, in the midst of a political vacuum left by disputed presidential elections. Returning to his homeland after 25 years in the political wilderness, Duvalier told reporters at the airport, simply: "I've come to help."

In 1971, Francois Duvalier suddenly died of an illness and named his son to succeed him. At 19, Jean-Claude Duvalier became the world's youngest president. The son was regarded as a lackluster student at a prestigious private Catholic school in the capital but his teachers gave him passing grades anyway to avoid fury from the National Palace, according to "Written in Blood" a history of the country by Robert Debs Heinl and Nancy Gordon Heinl.

Jean-Claude Duvalier ruled for 15 years, his administration seen as less violent and repressive than his father's. Echoes of press freedom and personal criticism, never tolerated under his father, emerged - sporadically - because of international pressure. Still, human rights groups documented abuses and political persecution. A trio of prisons known as the "Triangle of Death," which included the much-feared Fort Dimanche for long-term inmates, symbolized the brutality of his regime.

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